Thailand Meditation Retreat News

The Karuna Meditation and Yoga Center is very honored to host the Buddha’s Relics as part of the Maitreya Project’s Heart Shrine Relic Tour from March 5-7, 2010.

A precious collection of sacred relics of the Buddha and many other Buddhist masters is currently touring the world.

This is a rare opportunity to view these relics, which were found among the cremation ashes of Buddhist masters. They resemble beautiful pearl-like crystals.

Buddhists believe the relics embody the master’s spiritual qualities of compassion and wisdom and have been deliberately produced by the master so that all may share in their blessing.

Visitors often report experiences of inspiration and healing when in the presence of the relics. While some are inspired to pray for world peace and to develop their inner wisdom, others are overcome by emotion as the powerful effects of the relics open their hearts to compassion and loving-kindness.

The relics are clearly visible inside display cases that encircle a life-size, golden statue of the Maitreya Buddha. Throughout the events there are opportunities for visitors to participate in Blessing Ceremonies, during which the relics of the Buddha are gently placed on the crown of the visitor’s head as a special blessing.

According to Buddhist scriptures Maitreya will be the next Buddha to teach the path of loving-kindness to the world. At the conclusion of the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour, the relics will be enshrined in a 500-ft/152-m bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha which is being built in Kushinagar, northern India.

Maitreya Project’s activities include:

• building the 500ft/152m Maitreya Buddha statue – a magnificent monument to loving-kindness intended to awaken global awareness and inspire people

everywhere to think and act with kindness, thereby bringing peace to individuals, communities and the world.

• providing, free of charge, spiritual, education and healthcare facilities in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest areas in northern India.

• providing immediate and long-term employment.

• helping to develop the area’s infrastructure.

• serving as a focus and influence for sustainable, positive development in this emerging part of India. Maitreya Project’s vision combines charitable education and medical facilities along with the enduring spiritual focus of the Maitreya Buddha statue, to directly and indirectly foster whole-community economic and civic development, both now and for generations to come.

For more information, visit Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour website, or Contact Us.

Schedule:

Friday: 5pm Opening Ceremony by invitation only
Saturday: 10am to 7pm
Sunday: 10am to 7pm

Karuna Meditation Center is happy to be offering two regularly-scheduled events that are open to the local community on a drop-in basis.

Daily Meditation & Talk

Every day except Saturday, at 3:30 p.m. there is a guided meditation followed by a brief talk about a subject relevant to meditation and daily living, followed by open discussion.  The event ends at 5:00 p.m.  There is no fee but donations are welcome.

Yoga & Meditation

Every Monday and Thursday morning, at 10:00-12:30, there is a group yoga session, followed immediately by a one-hour meditation session.  The yoga is taught by an excellent teacher with plenty of experience and a great sense of humor. The meditation session is not a guided meditation, so if you need instruction before the session, contact us (sarah@meditate-thailand.com) ahead of time to arrange a time.  There is no charge for meditation instruction; we ask a donation of 150 baht to help cover the cost of the yoga instructor.

We’re working on getting a map posted.  Meanwhile, email me if you want to come, and I’ll send you a map and directions.

May 1 through July 31, 2009
Every year, when the summer monsoons made the roads of northern India impassable, the Buddha suspended his traveling teaching routine and took his closest followers to a protected location where he gave them intensive instruction and guided their practice for 90 days.  This event became known as the Summer Rains Retreat.  In the spirit of this original practice as established by the Buddha, we are holding the first Annual Summer Rains Retreat at the Karuna center in Thailand, beginning May 1.
The practices of the retreat are as laid out by the Buddha himself in the Mahasatipatthana Sutra:  The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Mindfulness of Body-first month; Mindfulness of Vedana-second month; Mindfulness of Mind-third month; Mindfulness of Object of Mind-third month), The Seven Factors of Awakening (practiced throughout the retreat), and The Four Noble Truths (practiced as the Four Immeasurables, at the very end of the retreat).  There will be live instruction nearly every day, and frequent opportunities for meditation interviews.

You can attend all or part of this retreat.  Contact info@meditate-Thailand.com for details  .Registration deadline is April 1; payment deadline is April 23.  The retreat is limited to 22 attendees at any one time, so don’t wait; email now.

Updated:  25 February 2009